The Seven Fields of Aphelion

Perhaps it was just simply the power of suggestion, but Christian Fennesz's 2001 LP, Endless Summer, has managed to change the way we perceive heavily layered ambient music. A genre that was once formed through "icy drones" is now often celebrated for its "warm soundscapes." Maux Boyle of Pittsburgh, PA experimentalists Black Moth Super Rainbow accelerates this notion with Periphery, her first solo outing under the name the Seven Fields of Aphelion. Working off of a multi-textured synthesizer whirr, Boyle adds a healthy dose of character to her songs through start-stop piano melodies, fire-crackling electronics and hypnotizing anti-compositions. The pacing found on songs like "Wildflower Wood" and "Lake Feet" precisely exhibit Boyle's ability to give her piano-driven tracks the same ethereal feel found within her synthesized compositions. Defined by multidimensional bursts of nature and nurture, Periphery injects a distinctive mood and personality into a genre too often viewed as faceless.